Meningioma: Anyone else? I'm frightened

I just finished radiation for it in the spring/winter. I had a craniotomy in 2023. Stay Positive. The best thing I did was quit drinking after my surgery. exercise is your best friend.

Thanks for sharing. I'm in Arizona and going to Mayo here. It is really quite frightening.

I got three consults, including Rochester Mayo. I went to Dr. Gardner at UPMC Mayo because he had done 250 that year alone (it was July) and thousands in his career. The doctor at Mayo agreed with his assessment and treatment. She does about 100 a year of tumors in this exact spot just like him. They specialize skull-base tumors. She said Dr. Gardner trained her to do these in her Fellowship. He was much closer also, so it just made sense to go to him. I think she would’ve been excellent as well. Feel free to private message me. I’m more than willing to talk more or even have a phone call.

Best,

Jason

If you wouldn’t mind me asking where did you have it done at?

Thank you for the info
very much appreciate it

It wasn’t super painful, just wasn’t myself for a while after. At 6 weeks I was quite a bit better, and at 8 weeks I actually went on a vacation to Nashville with my son. I took it pretty easy. The first couple weeks were the worst because I had a splint up my nose and had to breath through my mouth. You don’t realize how much you need the nose to help with pressure and breathing when eating! I am very glad I didn’t have to have a craniotomy like the first neurosurgeon was saying. The risks and possible complications were much higher, and no big incision. It was considered minimally invasive despite being surgery next to your brain. Crazy!

That’s where mine was. Pushing the pituitary gland over a little, pressing on my optic nerves and on the internal carotid arteries. My surgeon got 95% through my nose then sphenoid sinuses. He left a little “cuff” around the arteries because removing that would have been risky.

I hope you are better. I have 2 meningiomas. One is bigger and one smaller but they aren't going to do anything unless they are bigger at my next MRI which I will have done in November. It is a worry and I wish I understood everything better or how I even got these. I never would have known except my sodium went really low and the kidney doctor was trying to find out the cause. I believe my meningiomas are near my pituary gland. I just wish they were gone but then the surgery scares me more.

Was the sinus route very painful? Were you under general anesthesia?
How long before it healed?

ponce1991: I had a craniotomy on Oct. 17. Two weeks later I was passing out Halloween candy. My scar went from my left ear to the top of my head. (I had like 45 stitches where they sewed the skin flap down after removing it for surgery.) I have 2 other meningiomas that we are just watching with yearly MRIs. I know what the surgery is like, having gone through it, and I refuse to worry about the other 2 in my brain unless I have to; and that would be if a follow up MRI shows the meningioma has grown to the point that something needs to be done about it.